


A Winchester Christmas

by Lasafara



Series: Holiday Hooligan [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alcoholism Recovery, Fluff, John is dead, John's A+ Parenting, M/M, past poor coping mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11145180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasafara/pseuds/Lasafara
Summary: After Thanksgiving with Cas's family went so poorly, Dean invited him to Christmas with Dean's family. Cas learns more about his new boyfriend, and discovers how wonderful family can actually be.





	A Winchester Christmas

Castiel took a deep breath and looked over at his boyfriend. Dean met his gaze, grinning.

“Are you sure this is okay? We've only been dating a month, after all. Are you sure you want me to meet your family already?” Cas asked, trying to sound like he was less nervous than he actually was.

Dean leaned in and rested his forehead against Cas's forehead. “Don't worry, babe,” he said. “They're going to love you. I promise, okay?”

Cas nodded, and reached over to slide his hand into Dean's. “All right. I'm just…”

“Hey I get it. You don't have a good track record. But that's all their loss. My family is nothing like that, okay?” Dean closed the last couple of inches and pressed a kiss to Cas's lips. “You're great. They'll see that.”

Cas nodded, and Dean straightened up and turned to the door. Giving Cas one last thumbs up, Dean opened the door and walked in. There was no one there to greet them, but the muffled noises coming from deeper in the house indicated their presence. A haphazard pile of shoes mostly centered to the side of the front door made Cas grin. The difference between his family was already apparent. The men both slipped off their shoes and tossed them into the pile.

Dean took Cas's hand again and led him further into the house. In the living room, they found a large group of people, sitting on every conceivable flat surface, from the couches and chairs, to the floor, the arms of the furniture, the coffee table, and even each other. They were a variety of ages, and Cas was momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer amount of noise and laughter. 

“Hey! Hey! Hey guys! Dean's here!” shouted a blonde girl in an armchair, who was underneath a red-haired girl. 

“Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy!” came two voices in stereo, and Dean knelt to catch the five year olds as they launched themselves at him. They bowled him over, and he laughed as he fell onto his ass.

“Bout time you came inside, boy,” said an older man in a baseball cap and a wheelchair. “Beginning to think you were gonna spend the holiday on the front porch with the squirrels.”

Cas stood awkwardly to the side, watching the commotion. He wondered if it was too late to sneak back out the front door. He was just edging away from everyone when a hand dropped onto his shoulder and he just about jumped out of his skin.

“Hey! You must be Cas,” said the giant who had just appeared next to Cas. Cas looked up (and up, and up) at him, schooling his face into something neutral.

“Yes. Castiel, but Cas is fine.”

“I'm Sam. It's good to meet you. Dean's been talking nonstop about you since Thanksgiving,” Sam said, giving Cas a one-armed hug. “Let me introduce you to everyone!” 

Cas nodded, and Sam gestured around the room. “So we've got Jo in the armchair, and her girlfriend Charlie.”

Jo smiled like a shark, and Charlie waved excitedly. “We're gonna be best friends, I can tell already!” Charlie said, “How do you feel about Harry Potter?”

“Uh… My parents say it's symbology of the devil, and burned my copy of the first book?” Cas said hesitantly. 

“Well, we'll have to fix that! We've got two days, if we don't sleep we can get through the movies,” said Charlie, “though the books are better.”

Sam laughed and continued, “The rugrats are Ben and Emma, Dean's kids with Lisa. She dropped them off with Bobby for the week. Bobby is there,” the man in the cap waved, “and he's the one you want to impress.”

“What’d he want to impress me for, idjit? I ain't the one dating him,” said Bobby, glaring at Sam.

Sam just laughed, “Cuz you're the one who'll take a shotgun to him if he breaks Dean's heart!”

Cas jerked his head towards Bobby, wide-eyed, but the older man just rolled his eyes. 

“And then we've got Bill,” Sam continued, gesturing to an older balding man with a wide grin, “our brother Adam,” a young man with short dirty-blonde hair, “and my girlfriend Eileen,” a dark-haired woman who waved and made a complicated set of gestures with her hands.

Cas cocked his head at her. The gestures were clearly with intent, and vaguely familiar, but Cas couldn't quite place it. He looked to Sam, who was in the process of gesturing back. Cas squinted at him, trying to figure out what was going on.

Sam looked back at Cas. “Oh, sorry. Eileen says hello. She was asking if you knew sign language, but it's okay if you don't. She reads lips pretty well, and I can help translate if something is confusing. I've been learning for a while. I'm not fluent, but we make it work.”

“Hello, Cas. Welcome,” said Eileen, grinning and signing along with her speech. Cas watched her carefully, and then put his hand to his head and mimicked the salute, similar to the sign she’d given him. She smiled, and signed something at Sam.

Sam laughed, and signed back, before turning to Cas. “She says your technique is good for a beginner.”

Cas smiled carefully, unsure of how to respond. Dean spoke up then, wrestling himself to his feet with a child draped over a shoulder and the other under his arm. “Hey hey, don’t go lying to my boyfriend! She said it was sloppy, I know that sign! It’s the one she gives to me whenever I mess up.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t mess up so much, Dean,” said Eileen. Dean grinned and stuck his tongue out at her before gently dropping the children to the floor.

“Mature, Dean,” said Jo, giggling.

“Well, I’d’ve flipped her off, but there are little eyes present. Anyway! Where’s Ash? We’re not the last ones here, are we?” Dean looked around the room expectantly. Cas wasn’t sure where more people would fit. He assumed from the smells in the house that at least one person was in the kitchen, apparently making gingerbread.

“Nah, the boy’s been doing some kind of mentoring thing, helping out seniors at the local high school looking into similar fields. He invited his kid over, and his mother too. Apparently she’s a single mom. Ash didn’t want them alone for Christmas. He went to go pick them up. Should be arriving anytime now, actually,” Bill said, glancing at his watch.

“And Rufus said there weren’t no way he was gonna spend another Christmas surrounded by idjits and children, so I figure he’ll sneak in tonight and roll out his sleeping bag under the tree like he’s some big damn present,” Bobby grumbled. 

“So just like last year, huh?” Dean ruffled his kids’ hair and they looked up at him grinning. “You guys looking forward to presents?”

“Yeah!!” The kids both yelled.

“Have you been good for Mommy and Victor?” he asked.

“Yeah!!” came the response.

“You wanna come into the kitchen with me and Cas and ruin your dinner?”

Both kids yelled incoherently in agreement and went running out of the room. Dean grinned and wrapped an arm around Cas’s waist. “Welp, we better follow them. Besides, you need to meet my moms.”

The two men followed the children’s path in a more sedately pace, and Cas found himself in the kitchen, where three women and a bear of a man moved around the kitchen in a complicated dance, off-handedly insulting each other as they did so. 

“Hey! Momma! Come meet my boyfriend!” Dean said, stopping just inside the kitchen to stay out of the way. Both kids had been settled on stools with cookies. One of the two blonde women turned and beamed at Dean, opening her arms and walking over to pull Dean into her arms. Dean folded his arms around her in a big hug.

After a moment she pulled back and took Dean’s face in her hands. “Ah, child, it’s so good to see you smile. I feel like it’s been too long.”

Dean ducked out of her grip, trying to hide his blush. “Come on, Momma…”

“And this must be the reason for that smile,” the woman said as she turned towards Cas. Cas shot a look at Dean, trying not to panic, but Dean just grinned at him. “My name is Kate Milligan-Winchester, but you can call me Kate. Unless you two get married, and then I expect you to call me Momma too.”

“Hello Kate. My name is Castiel. It’s nice to meet you,” Cas said formally, holding a hand out to shake.

Kate ignored the hand and wrapped Cas in a hug. “It’s such a pleasure to have you in my house. Let me introduce you to everyone else.” Kate gestured to the other blonde woman in the kitchen, who turned when she heard her name. “This is Karen. You’ll hear the boys call her Mom, generally. She’s known Sam and Dean longer than I have.”

Karen smiled, though she didn’t stop kneading the dough she was wrist-deep in. “I promise you both a hug later, boys, but if I don’t keep kneading for another 15 minutes, we won’t have any babka bread for dinner.”

“I’m Ellen Harvelle, Jo and Ash’s mother. You can call me Ellen, like the rest,” said the dark-haired woman. “Dean, I need you over here. We’ve got to get the ham in the oven, and Benny insists it should be prepared with bourbon and molasses, but you know damn well that my pineapple and cinnamon ham is the best in the county. See if you can talk that boy straight.”

Dean laughed and walked over to where Ellen and Benny, apparently the large man, were standing. Benny waved to Cas, “I’ll speak to you later, brother. You understand, though. Food comes first.”

Castiel nodded, and watched as Dean, Benny, and Ellen began preparing food, laughing and bantering back and forth. Kate turned back to Cas and hooked her arm through his, leading him through the kitchen and out onto the back porch, “Come with me, son. Your boy will be busy for a while, and I don’t have anything keeping me from being a good hostess right now.”

Cas sent one more anxious look towards Dean, but Dean appeared to be engrossed in a heated discussion over mustards. Resigned, he went with Kate out to the porch. The porch itself had been set up for company, and two coolers had been filled with snow and beverages. One had been placed on the railing, strapped down in a way that would keep it from falling off, while the other was on the floor. Kate grabbed a bottle from the first, “This one is filled with some alcoholic beverages, while that one,” pointing to the one on the floor, “is more kid-friendly. The little ones are old enough now to get their own drinks, and this keeps them from accidentally grabbing something colorful that’s not meant for them.”

Pulling a Pepsi out of the “kid-friendly” cooler, Cas sat down with Kate on one of the outdoor loveseats. She watched him for a moment, and then softly asked, “So, you don’t drink either? Dean never told us… did you meet at one of his meetings?”

Cocking his head, Cas gave her a puzzled look. “Meetings?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I know it’s all supposed to be anonymous, but I just… I worry about my boy. He’s had such a hard go of it, even more than the other two. He was old enough when his mother died, and the time after, well…” Kate trailed off, looking at the bottle in her hands.

“Ma’am? I… I’m not entirely sure what Dean has told you, or in fact all that much about his history. We’ve only known each other a very short time. I… I needed moral support in facing my family, and Dean was willing to help me out, even though I was a stranger.” Cas was not sure what Dean had and had not told his family about how they had met, and he wanted to be careful to not contradict him. However, he was fairly sure that this woman would be upset if she knew that her son had resorted to a Craigslist ad for the holiday. 

“That does sound like my son, yes. I’m so glad he was willing to go with you for that. From what he’s said of your family, I understand it did not go well,” Kate said. “Dean is a good person to have by your side for something like that. I’m glad he was there for you.”

Cas nodded, opening his bottle and taking a drink. He didn’t particularly want to talk about his family or the unpleasantness that had been Thanksgiving. He was content to sit here quietly keeping this woman company, since he wasn’t quite sure of the protocol here. He could, he supposed, ask questions about Dean, but he wasn’t sure if that would be considered polite or acceptable. Cas was desperate to not upset these people. They seemed so happy right now, he didn’t want to do anything that would change that.

Kate nudged him with her elbow. “You’re so tense! Come now. I know as his mother, I’m supposed to show you baby pictures and tell embarrassing stories, but I wasn’t around for Dean’s earliest childhood, so I don’t have a lot of those. By the time I came into his life, he’d grown beyond his years, and was far too serious.”

“Ah… If… If it’s alright, though, I’d still like to know more about him? From you?” Cas said hesitantly, speaking to his bottle of Pepsi.

Leaning back, Kate glanced over at Cas, and then up at the aluminum awning protecting the porch. “I met John, the boys’ father, when Dean was 13. John was looking for a recreation of his first marriage, I think, but judging by things Dean has said over the years, John had some awfully rosy glasses regarding his first wife. We married quickly, and I’d regret that, but then I wouldn’t have my boys, so it all works out, I suppose. We hadn’t even been married a year before he fell back into the drink, and a couple of months after Adam was born, he vanished. I panicked, but the boys and the Singers explained that it was just… normal, for John. That was when I got to know Bobby and Karen. They’ve been as much parents to my boys as I have, and certainly more than John ever was.”

Kate looked over at Cas and sighed, “Now, you’ll never hear me say a mean word about John around the boys. He was their father, and they loved him. He loved them too, in his own way. But he was a terrible father, a terrible husband, and a terrible man. I should have kicked him out long before I did. I didn’t want to take their father from them, but… Well. Anyway! You wanted to know about Dean, not his father!”

Cas shook his head. “I don’t mind, ma’am. I’m always willing to learn more about Dean.”

Laughing, Kate shook her head. “Well, Dean is quite a man. I can’t take much credit for that, of course, but I still have a mother’s pride. Mary, Sam and Dean’s mother, did a good job raising that boy with the time she had.”

“What… happened to her?” Cas asked.

“Breast cancer, apparently. They found it during her pregnancy with Sam, when Dean was only 6. I don’t know for sure, but reading between the lines, I suspect it wasn’t found early, and they had to postpone treatment until Sam was born. But don’t you go repeating that. Sam doesn’t need any guilt over that. Sam was only four when she passed, and they had some tough times until John found me. But Dean was quite the little parent. Even after I moved in, Dean insisted on cleaning and looking after Sam. I think he’d’ve taken over the cooking too, if I’d have let him. I’m sure you’ve noticed how neat and organized he is. Gets that from his mother, I think. That boy loves to take care of people.” Kate took a drink from her bottle and patted Cas’s knee. “I’m hoping that you can teach him a bit about being taken care of,” she said.

*****

Dean was deep in a discussion about the differences between spicy brown mustard and dijon mustard with Benny, when Ellen came up behind him and set a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Dean. Why the hell didn’t you stop by my place for Thanksgiving this year? You told me you were gonna be with Bobby, but I’ve just heard from Karen that you’d told them you were coming to my place? I thought you knew better than to lie to me, boy.”

“I uh. Well, I ended up going with Cas to his family’s Thanksgiving, that’s all,” Dean said, not turning around to look at the woman.

From across the room, Karen piped up, “You know we wouldn’t have minded if you’d told us you were going to Thanksgiving dinner with your boyfriend. We’re happy you’ve found someone.”

“I know, I know. It just… We weren’t… exactly together, then. I was just… going along because he’d invited me. We decided to start dating after that,” Dean replied, still staring at the mustard bottle he was holding. 

“Look, son, I don’t care who you want to spend your time with, as long as it’s all above the board. I just don’t like that you thought you had to lie to me. Where did you tell your mother you were going?” Ellen asked.

“Ah… That I was spending it with you,” Dean said ruefully. And then, a moment later, “Ow! Ellen, what?!”

Ellen glared at him. “I’ll smack your head again if you keep spouting nonsense, boy! You have a family that loves you. Did you think we wouldn’t talk to each other?”

“I just--”

“Don’t you “I just” me, boy! I wasn’t born yesterday! What do you have to say for yourself?”

Dean ducked his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, Ellen. Sorry Mom.”

“It’s all right, son. I’m just glad you’re all right,” said Karen. Ellen nodded, and snatched the dijon mustard from Dean’s hands.

With a light punch, Dean glared over at Benny, “Hey, why didn’t you stand up for me?”

“Brother, I know better than to make enemies with any of your mamas. That’s a recipe for disaster right there,” Benny said with a wink. 

Dean sighed dramatically, just as Ash walked into the kitchen. “Hey ya’ll! I come bearing gifts!”

“What kind of gifts you bringing, boy?” Ellen asked, helping him with the bags he was carrying.

“Well, for one, I figured the argument about your ham versus Benny’s ham probably hadn’t been resolved yet, since you two have been arguing about that since Benny showed up last night. So I’ve solved the issue by gettin’ a second one. I also picked up a boneless half-leg of lamb, cuz otherwise ol’ Rufus’ll bitch about not havin’ anything kosher to eat,” Ash said, pulling the aforementioned items out of the bags. “And check it out! I found some donut ale! It’s Pretzel Raspberry And Chocolate Ale, put out by Voodoo Doughnuts! Figured it’d be fun to try.”

Benny shook his head. “None for me, I’m afraid. Even if I weren’t still on the wagon, that don’t sound like anything that should be drunk by man nor beast.”

“Yeah, I think I’m glad I quit drinking, if that’s what you’re bringing to the table, Ash,” Dean said, laughing. 

“Hey, laugh all you want, teetotalers, but I’m gonna be enjoying this great pretzel ale without you!” Ash lifted a sealed bottle in a toast, before loading it and the rest of the pack into the fridge. The lamb went into the fridge as well, to be prepared later. Ellen took the ham, and another pan from the shelves, and began preparations to make her ham, while the other ham was handed over to Benny for him to prepare as he saw fit. 

The plan was to do most of the cooking today, so that tomorrow the food just needed to be reheated (in the oven, of course) to be served. That way, the cooks could enjoy Christmas Day just the same as everyone else. Of course, some things, like Karen’s babka bread, were for dinner tonight, and Dean suspected that with two hams, one would be carved tonight and one tomorrow. Leftovers in this family group were shared equally among everyone. Dean wasn’t sure if anyone even knew whose tupperware belonged to whom at this point. 

Benny dragged Dean over to his corner of the kitchen, and then, while having Dean help him make his contributions to the holiday dinner, Benny spoke quietly, “So, how are you doing, brother?”

“Alright, I guess,” Dean said, stirring the bowl of ingredients he’d been handed. 

“Lying to your family about something silly like where you’re gonna be is not usually fine, Dean. Least, not after you’re paying rent. I’m your sponsor before I’m your friend, brother,” Benny said, looking serious, “and I need to know when something’s up. If you want your nine-month chip, you can’t afford to fall off the wagon now.”

“I know, I know. Look it was just… With Adam and Sam not coming home for Thanksgiving, and what with the mess I was for so long, I just…” Dean trailed off, not quite able to finish.

“You didn’t think you deserved a holiday with your family, did you? You figured you could get away with castigating yourself in the quiet of your apartment alone on a national holiday celebrating family and food, your two favorite things.” Benny shook his head, sighing. “You can lie to yourself, brother, but you can’t lie to me. You know how that would have turned out. Thank god for your boy there, dragging you out of your hole to his place.”

“Look, I just… I can’t be trusted yet, Benny,” Dean said desperately, still quiet but higher in pitch. 

“ _Co faire_? Because you relapsed? Nearly a year ago? Brother, we’ve been through this. Recovery is a process, and sometimes you take a step back.” Benny placed a finger over Dean’s mouth as he opened it to argue. “No, _cher_ , believe me. We’ve all been there. It’s normal, in the beginning, to have some stumbles. It took me six months to get my 30-day chip. You’re coming up on nine months, now. You’ve proven yourself, to everyone here. You have nothing else to prove.”

“But… Benny, last year... Momma said... ” 

“ _Cher_ , last year was a year ago. Your mama had her reasons then, and that’s as it may be, but you’re not in that place anymore, and she knows it,” Benny said firmly. “Look, if you don’t want to spend a day with your family, then don’t. Come to my place, we’ll make gumbo and watch _Dark Shadows_ reruns.”

“I’d rather watch _Dr. Sexy_ ,” Dean grumbled, but he was smiling. Benny reached around and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, shaking him softly.

“We’ll have to arm wrestle over it. Anyway,” Benny continued, speaking at a more normal volume, “tell me more about this boy of yours. He must be something, to have stolen your heart.”

*****

When Kate and Cas came inside from the back porch to warm up, Cas headed straight to the bathroom. On the way out, he found his way blocked by a wheelchair.

“Ah. Hello, Bobby,” Cas said, cocking his head to the side. 

“Come on, boy. It’s time you and I had a talk,” Bobby said, glaring up at him and then rolling his way to what was probably his and Karen’s bedroom, given the height of the bed and the transfer board resting against a nightstand. Cas followed anxiously, wondering if this was when the shotgun would appear.

“Now then. Just to get all the cliches out of the way, what are your intentions towards my boy?” Bobby asked, turning his chair to face the bed and gesturing that Cas should sit.

Cas sat cautiously, on the very edge of the bed. Looking down, he spoke to the floor, “I uh… Dean is a wonderful man. He came to me to confront my family, even though we didn’t really know each other. He’s handsome, and kind, and I don’t think he thinks much of himself, but he’s worth so much more than he realizes. And I’d like to… to be by his side, as long as he’ll allow it.”

“Pretty speech. We’ll see. I’ve known that boy since he was knee-high to a grasshopper and stealing food for that brother of his. He’s always been a bit older in the soul,” Bobby said, shaking his head.

“How did you meet, then?” Cas asked, lighting up with interest before schooling his face back into its neutral resting position.

Bobby raised an eyebrow at Cas, but shrugged. “Karen had been volunteering at Sonny’s Home For Wayward Boys. You know the place, out in the country a ways. Dean showed up there after getting caught stealing from a grocery store. That boy wouldn’t talk to anyone, and Karen had this wild hair about getting me in there, said she just knew I could get that boy to talk. Bless her, she was right, though I’m not quite sure how it happened. Anyway, Dean left the home after six months, but he took my number with him, and when that ass of a father of theirs left them again, he called me up and we brought the boys over here. They’ve been part of the family ever since.” 

“Why… Why does he call you Bobby, but your wife Mom?” Cas asked, finally looking up and cocking his head at Bobby.

“I never was father material. S’why we never had kids of our own,” Bobby said, pulling his cap down lower. “But Karen loved those boys, and I love watching her mother them.”

Cas squinted his eyes, unsure. Bobby’s words seemed to deny his love for Dean and his brothers, but unlike Cas’s mother, who talked of love but did not display it, Bobby’s actions painted a picture of fatherly love. Cas wasn’t sure which was more accurate. 

“Anyway, boy. Dean’s been through a lot in his life. He’s told me a bit about how your Thanksgiving went, so I ain’t sayin’ you’ve not been through shit too. But Dean will use every last bit of himself to take care of the people he loves, and so that means it’s your job to make sure he doesn’t use himself up takin’ care of you,” Bobby said, jabbing a finger at Cas. “You take care of my boy, and we won’t have no problems, alright kid?”

Cas swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t you ‘sir’ me. Ain’t no reason to be callin’ me ‘sir.’ Now git.” 

Scrambling up, Cas nodded to Bobby as he walked back out of the bedroom and down the hall to the living room. There, he found an older Asian woman seated on the couch, with a teenaged boy seated on the floor in front of her, apparently studying something related to computers. At least, that’s what Cas assumed, given that there was a picture of a computer in the book the boy was reading. It didn’t seem to be written in English, though, so Castiel wasn’t entirely sure.

Adam was also in the room, sprawled across the rest of the couch. Everyone else seemed to have vanished, however. Cas looked around curiously, trying to discern some reason for everyone to have disappeared. The kitchen hadn’t seemed large enough for everyone, after all. 

Looking up, Adam gave Cas a wave. “Hey, Castiel! You wanna join us? Everyone else went out back for a game of football. _Die Hard_ ’s on. It’s a Winchester Christmas tradition!”

“Um. Yes, sure,” Cas said, settling himself into an armchair. “Why aren’t you out with the rest of them?”

“Ha! They do this every year. After dark, before dinner, they take the light-up football out and pretend to play a game of Midnight Football, which is mostly an excuse for everyone to run around in the dark and scream at each other,” Adam said, shaking his head, a teenager saddened by the immaturity in the adults surrounding him. “Kevin’s mom didn’t think he should be out there, so I figured I’d stay in and play good host.”

Kevin looked up at the sound of his name, but when it was clear no one was speaking to him, he turned his attention back to his books. His mother nodded to Cas. “I’m Linda Tran. It’s nice to meet you…?”

“Castiel. It’s nice to meet you as well.”

With that, they went back to watching the television. Cas was confused, though he supposed that’s what happens when one starts a movie in the middle. He wasn’t quite willing to ask any questions though, in case he seemed ignorant of this “Winchester tradition.”

After a few moments, Adam looked over at Castiel. “You know, this is the happiest I’ve seen Dean since the accident. You’ve been good for him. I’m glad.”

“The accident?” Cas asked, turning his attention to Adam. He glanced quickly at the Trans, but they both seemed curiously determined to not pay attention to the conversation between Adam and Cas.

“Hahhh. Well, Dean’s not going to tell you about that, but you ought to know, if you’re going to stick around.” Adam sighed, looking up at the ceiling, “Little over two years ago now, Dad, Sam, and I were all in a car accident. Dad was killed, Sam had to go through surgery and shit, and I was the lucky one who walked away. Sammy was fine, after a few months, but Dean… he’d handed the keys over to Dad, hadn’t come with us, and somehow to him that meant the whole thing was his fault. Never mind that that was nonsense. Anyway, Dean took it hard, and when a Winchester gets upset, there’s only one thing they know to turn to.”

Adam lifted a hand, mimicking drinking. Cas squinted at him for a moment, and then remembered what Kate had asked earlier, about a “meeting,” and nodded. “Ah. I see. He had told me he doesn’t drink anymore.”

“Yeah, that was a battle and a half, and he lashed out at anyone who tried to help. Anyway, Dean’s been different since that happened. Sad, mostly. Heartbroken. Dean had always looked up to Dad, never saw Dad’s flaws like the rest of us did. Guess it had something to do with knowing him before Dean’s mom died. Anyway, the accident was Dad’s fault, he’d been drinking, but it was nearly impossible to tell when Dad was sober cuz he really didn’t act much different. Still a mean, bitter old man no matter what. So Dean lost his father, and lost his vision of Dad’s perfection, too,” Adam shook his head. “I wasn’t sure we’d ever see Dean come out of his funk. It’s good to see him acting like himself again. So like, you’re good in my book, just for that.”

Cas looked down at his hands, fidgeting a little. “I really didn’t do anything.”

“Eh. Just the fact that he’s been putting himself out there is enough. Just don’t break his heart. Bobby may not be very fast, but he’s got connections and he’ll be happy to tan your hide,” Adam said, grinning.

From down the hall came a shout, “I may be old, but I ain’t deaf, boy!” 

Adam dissolved into laughter, shouting an acknowledgement. Cas stared at the entrance to the living room wide-eyed, and then back to Adam. Adam only winked.

*****

Dinner that night was a pleasant, festive affair. They’d cooked up Benny’s ham for Christmas Eve, and the table was filled with food. Ben and Emma were excited, shoveling in food between shouts of Santa. It was hard for Castiel to concentrate, because it seemed like there was always something being said or done that needed his attention. Sometimes it was just a matter of grabbing food before it was all gone, which apparently was more of an issue in this household than in his own. Dean watched out for him, though, grabbing dishes Cas had seemed fond of to scoop more food onto Cas’s plate as soon as there was space. 

Cas ended up so full he wondered if perhaps they would have to roll him to his bed. As soon as dinner was over, Dean, Kate, and Karen hustled the little ones up to a room. Ben was stubborn, though.

“I don’t wanna go to bed! I want to see Santa!” shouted the little boy. 

“Santa won’t come if you don’t go to bed, though,” Dean said, kneeling in front of his little boy.

“But I wanna give Santa a hug! I gotta thank him for all the presents,” Ben said, starting to sniffle.

“Tell you what. We’ll make sure after Christmas that we write Santa a long note thanking him for all the presents you got, okay?” Karen suggested.

“Okay… Daddy, will you sleep with me’n’Emmy? We’re real tiny, you can be in bed with us!” Ben said. That was probably what Ben had wanted all along, really, Cas thought. 

Dean smiled. “Well, but what about my friend? Can he sleep with us too? I wouldn’t want to leave him alone.”

Emma came over and took Ben’s hand, and they babbled to each other for a moment, before they nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. We’ll shove your beds together into one big bed, and we’ll all sleep together, okay? But for now, little butts need to get ready for bed, so that Santa can come,” Dean said. 

After that was a flurry of getting ready for bed, and Cas would have sworn there were a dozen children in the house, from the amount of noise and running around that happened. But finally the cookies, carrots, and milk were laid out, the kisses were given, the teeth were brushed, and the twins were in bed. Then there was another, quieter furor as the adults pulled presents from nearly every corner of the house and placed them under the tree. At some point the cookies and carrots were eaten, the milk was drunk, and the adults began quietly saying their good nights. 

Dean and Cas slipped into the twins’ room, where Dean had, as promised, shoved the two twin beds together and draped the blankets over both. Dean gestured for Cas to slide in on the side with Ben, while Dean slipped in beside Emma. The children stirred slightly, but did not wake, and Ben seemed comfortable enough to grab Cas’s nightshirt and nuzzle into his chest. Cas looked up in wonder at Dean, who just grinned and put his finger over his mouth. They settled down to sleep, and it wasn’t long before the house was quiet, everyone finally asleep.

*****

The next morning started far far too early, the whole house roused to the screams of two kindergarteners. 

“Santa came, Santa came, Santa came!!”

Cas groaned, rubbing his eyes groggily. He had not fit into a twin-size bed since he was a teenager, and sharing one with a squirrelly 5 year old had not made for a comfortable night. He started to stretch, only to have the wind knocked out of him when a small body landed on his chest. 

“Santa, Santa, come on, we have to go see what Santa brought!”

Cas groaned, and reached up to pat… Emma on the arm. “I see. Why don’t you… go on down, and I’ll be right there.”

He heard Dean laughing from the other side of the room as Emma disembarked and ran out. 

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” Cas said, growling softly. “I’m not used to kids. Are they always this… loud?”

Dean shrugged. “Christmas is kind of a special occasion, but loud pretty much comes with the territory,” he said, watching Cas get up. When Cas headed for the door, Dean called after him, “Oh, if you’re going to the bathroom, just a warning! Ash sleeps in the tub when he’s over here!”

*****

Opening presents was a whirlwind of activity. The children tore through presents, unwrapping one and holding it up to announce what it was, only to immediately set it aside for a new brightly colored package. Ash, Jo, and Dean were equally enthusiastic. Everyone else was more composed, though to varying degrees. Cas had been surprised by the amount of gifts that everyone had come up with last night, and it seemed like the pile had quadrupled over the night. 

Cas was also surprised by the amount of presents under the tree for himself. Dean had assured him that he didn’t need to buy presents for everyone, so Castiel had settled for buying only Dean a gift. Somehow, though, Kate, the Singers, Adam, and Sam had all gotten gifts for Cas. They were all simple things, books mostly, that Cas had expressed an interest in to Dean. But it meant something to Cas that they had been willing to buy something for him, even though he was nearly a stranger. It was all such a sharp contrast from his own family that Cas felt himself tearing up, and tried to surreptitiously wipe his eyes.

After the presents were opened, it was only 10am, and Karen pulled a gooey mess out of the oven, something she called bubble bread, and placed it on the table. The children screamed in excitement, and rushed to the table, followed closely behind by everyone else. There was a fight for what everyone called “the inside pieces.” Cas wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up with any food at all, given the riot unfolding at the table, but a plate with three pieces of the gooey cinnamony pull-apart bread on it appeared in his hands. 

The stuff was delicious, and Cas was sad when he realized it was all gone, but he supposed in a family this size it was no surprise. After breakfast had been cleared away, the twins went back to their toys, while Bill went around the living room, picking up discarded paper and boxes, pulling toys out of packaging, and slipping batteries into their slots. Bobby rolled over to the kids, and somehow ended up with a robot in hand, the robot apparently having an intricate conversation (or possibly a dance?) with a dinosaur and a dump truck. Rufus, who absolutely had shown up overnight, was holding a pretty pink bejeweled doll, assisting in the dance the twins were directing with their toys.

Karen, Kate, Ellen, and Benny disappeared into the kitchen, officially just to check on everything, but Dean nudged Cas and told him they’d be in there until dinner time. Apparently the goal of preparing Christmas dinner the night before was a lofty one they tried every year and failed to accomplish. Linda disappeared back into the room she’d slept in to take a nap, while Kevin went to the back porch with a large textbook. Ash followed him out there, and after a little while, so did Jo and Charlie, though that seemed to be mostly at Charlie’s insistence. 

That left Dean, Sam, Eileen, and Cas seated around the dining room table. After a few moments of casual conversation, with Sam translating as needed for Eileen, Sam and Eileen shared a meaningful look, and then Sam turned back to Dean. Dean immediately began to look cornered.

“Hey hey, no chick flick moments, guys,” Dean said, holding his hands up. Cas reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, and Dean covered it with his own, glancing over at Cas and immediately softening his expression. They held that gaze for a long moment, until finally Sam cleared his throat.

“Okay, guys, enough with the longing gaze,” Sam said, shaking his head. “Dean, seriously, we need to talk, okay? Eileen and I have talked to Bobby and Mom, and we were wondering when you were planning to go back to college.”

“Well, I mean, what with the medical bills, and Adam’s in school now, and--”

Sam cut Dean off. “That’s all bullshit and you know it. Momma has good insurance, and nearly all of my bills were covered. Dad had decent life insurance, and Momma got a good payout from that. I’m nearly out of school, and you know Eileen and I would be more than willing to help pay your way, given how much you’ve done for me. We all understood why you dropped out after the accident, but. There’s no reason for you to give up now.”

Cas looked at Dean inquisitively. Dean had never mentioned to him that he’d started to go to college. “What were you going to school for, Dean?”

“Mechanical engineering,” Dean said reluctantly.

“Oh!” Cas said brightly, “That’s excellent! You’ve said you enjoyed building things. I’m sure you’d be able to find a great job in that!”

Sam grinned, “See? Even your boyfriend thinks you should go back. Look, we have the money. You got your basics at the community college, and were all set to transfer. It wouldn’t be hard to make that happen now.”

Dean ran his hand through his hair and sighed, shooting a glare over at Cas before turning back to Sam. “I’ll think about it, okay? I’ve got time before fall semester starts.”

“That’s great!” said Sam, and Eileen gave Dean an excited double thumbs up. They spoke for a moment in fast-paced sign language, and then stood together. “We’re going to go hang out with the twins and tell Bobby the good news, okay?”

Dean sputtered after them, but they were already gone. Cas looked at Dean in confusion, and asked, “Why are you upset?”

Instead of answering, Dean stood up and offered a hand to Cas. “Come with me?”

Cas took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, following after Dean without either of them letting go of their hands. Dean led him to the twins’ bedroom, where the beds were still shoved together and thoroughly rumpled. Dean sat down on one side, pulling Cas into his lap. 

“Are you okay, Dean?”

Dean nodded. “I’m fine. I just needed a moment,” he said, nuzzling his face into Cas’s neck. Cas wrapped his arms around Dean, gently rubbing his back.

“Your family is very nice,” Cas said finally, quietly.

“Much better than yours. We didn’t end up at Denny’s, after all,” Dean said. He didn’t lift his head from Cas’s shoulder, but even slightly muffled Cas understood him.

“Denny’s wasn’t so bad.”

Dean laughed, and finally pulled away enough to look at Cas. “I love you, you know that?”

“I do,” Cas said, gently leaning in to give Dean a kiss.

“Good. You like my family?”

“I do,” Cas replied again, with another kiss.

“Are you going to come back next year?”

“If you’ll have me. I’ll be here for as long as you’ll have me Dean,” Cas said softly, meeting Dean’s gaze.

“Good. Good. Wanna cuddle?”

“Always.”

At that, the two twisted and laid down on the bed, slipping under the covers. This was what they needed right now. Later, they would have to face Dean’s family again, with all the questions and conversations that entailed, but for now, they could lay here in this quiet bubble, and simply take strength in being together. And so they did.


End file.
